Missile launching apparatus

ABSTRACT

A missile-launching device is described which is capable of holding an arrow in a ready-to-fire position indefinitely, but which is more compact and less cumbersome than a traditional bow or crossbow. Elastic tubes are used to propel the arrow. An arrow is held in the ready-to-fire position by stretching an missile notch portion between the elastic bands back into a rearwardly extending rest. The missile is held in place at the rear by the arrow notch portion and at the front by a trigger-activated pair of locking arms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to devices for launching projectiles, andin particular to slingshot-like weapons adapted for the launching ofarrows and the like.

2. Brief Description of the Related Art

The sling has been used since prehistoric times for hunting and warfare.Generally speaking, a sling consists of a short strap or pouch forreceiving a stone, bullet, or other missile, with a string attached toeach end of the strap. To launch a missile, the operator first spins thesling to build up speed, then releases one of the strings. When thestring is released, the missile exits the strap or pouch, hurlingforward in a line tangential to the arc of the circle formed by thespinning sling. A sling allows a missile to be hurled with much greaterforce than could be achieved with simple arm motion.

The slingshot is a relatively modern weapon that, like the sling, alsofeatures a strap or pouch to receive a missile. In the case of theslingshot, however, the strings are replaced by elastic tubes or bands,most commonly made from vulcanized rubber. These tubes are attached to asupport member usually formed in a “Y” shape. The elastic tubes are eachattached to one of the arms of the “Y,” and the bottom stem of the “Y”support is used as a handle. The slingshot is fired by first holding thesupport in one hand and gripping the pouch holding the missile with theother, pulling the pouch backwards to stretch the elastic tubes orbands, then releasing the pouch to launch the missile. The launch speedof the missile is dependent upon the resiliency of the elastic tubes andthe distance to which they are stretched prior to release.

The desirability of developing an effective slingshot-like weaponcapable of launching shafted missiles, such as arrows, rather than bluntmissiles, such as stones and bullets, has long been recognized. Aslingshot is more compact and easier to use than a traditional bow orcrossbow. This is an especially important consideration for hunters, whooften must travel significant distances by foot through dense foliage.Under these circumstances, a traditional bow is difficult to transportdue to its bulkiness, and may create a significant amount of noise as itcontacts brush, which can disturb game animals. While crossbows aregenerally more compact than traditional bows, they still include atransverse bow portion much wider than a traditional slingshot. This bowportion of the crossbow, like a traditional longbow or compound bow, maybe cumbersome, and easily catches on brush as a hunter moves. On theother hand, arrows and other shafted missiles have significantadvantages over blunt projectiles, such as a stone or sling bullet. Dueto their shape and spin characteristics during flight, arrows may befired much more accurately and at much greater distances than a typicalsling or slingshot missile. They also may be fitted with various typesof heads adapted specifically to their application, such as thesteel-bladed heads commonly used on modern hunting arrows. Such headsare far more effective hunting weapons than blunt missiles. For thesereasons, few hunters use slingshots for hunting despite the advantagesoffered by their compact shape and size.

One of the difficulties facing the designer of a slingshot-like weaponfor launching arrows or other shafted missiles is to provide aneffective means of supporting the forward end of the arrow prior tolaunch. U.S. Pat. No. 2,645,217 to Fisher teaches an arrow guidedisposed between the arms of a Y-shaped support member. The arrow guideincludes a notch to receive the arrow. U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,007 to Olsonteaches a similar support, except in the case of Olson the support isconnected to fittings attached to the elastic members of the devicerather than directly to the support member arms. U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,288to Knerr teaches a support with a circular bore sized to receive thearrow shaft, the bore also including radial slots through with thefeathers of the arrow are intended to pass during launch. U.S. Pat. No.4,873,963 to Lemmen teaches an “arrow sling device” with hinged gatesthat close together to form an arrow seat aperture. The gates openforwardly in response to pressure from the arrow fletching, therebyallowing the fletched portion of the arrow to pass through duringlaunch. U.S. Pat. No. 3,018,770 to Saunders teaches a “sling bow” withan arrow rest including two support prongs. The forward end of the arrowshaft sits between the outwardly bent ends of the two support prongsprior to launch.

It may be seen that while each of the arrow support mechanisms discussedabove do provide a means for resting an arrow prior to launch when usinga slingshot-type weapon, they do not provide a secure means for holdingan arrow in place prior to launch. In each case, the operator must holdthe rearward end of the arrow at the strap or pouch with tension in theelastic bands or tubes in order to maintain the device in aready-to-fire configuration. The operator will quickly tire of holdingthe device in this manner, and thus it is impractical to draw an arrowinto the ready-to-fire position until just prior to launch. While thisis not a significant disadvantage in some applications, such as targetshooting, it is an important issue when using such a device for hunting.Any movement by the hunter prior to launch raises the risk that thehunter will be seen by the targeted game animal, thus causing the animalto run away and likely spoiling the opportunity to target the animal.The severity of this problem is increased because such weapons generallyhave a much shorter effective range than firearms, and thus even smallmovements by the hunger are more likely to be seen by the game animal atthese closer ranges. In addition, it will be difficult or impossible fora hunter to run or move quickly when holding such a weapon in theready-to-fire position. Such movements are often necessary duringhunting, such as when a hunter must quickly proceed to a new position inorder to intercept a moving game animal. It would also be desirable tokeep a weapon in a ready-to-fire state during routine movements whilehunting, since the hunter may be surprised by an encounter with a gameanimal and otherwise would have no opportunity to fire in such asituation.

By contrast to the slingshot-like arrow launching devices describedabove, crossbows may be locked in a ready-to-fire position indefinitely,then released by simply pulling a trigger. The hunter may even engage inrunning or other strenuous activity while the crossbow is held in aready-to-fire state, an important advantage when pursuing game on footas explained above. For these reasons, crossbows have proven to be muchmore popular than any of the prior slingshot-like hunting devicesadapted to fire arrows, despite the greater bulkiness, complexity, andvery poor rate of fire intrinsic to crossbows. It will be seen then thatthe development of a slingshot-type hunting device capable of shootingshafted missiles such as arrows, but also capable of being held in aready-to-fire position for an indefinite duration much like a crossbow,would be highly desirable.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a missile launching device that iscapable of being locked in a ready-to-fire position for an indefiniteperiod of time. A missile locking mechanism that may be opened andclosed by the operator, such as by the use of a trigger in certainembodiments, to hold the shaft of a shafted missile in place in thedevice. In certain embodiments, the device further comprises a notchingmechanism that holds the end of an arrow or other shafted missile in anotched and ready-to-fire position.

In one aspect, the invention is directed to an apparatus for launchingmissiles, comprising a frame, at least one pair of elastic membersconnected to the frame and engageable with a rearward end of a missile,a support extending rearwardly from the frame and engageable with the atleast one pair of elastic members when the at least one pair of elasticmembers is at least partially extended rearwardly from the frame, and amissile holder selectively engageable with a forward portion of amissile wherein the missile is locked into position with respect to theapparatus when the missile holder is engaged.

In another aspect, the invention is directed to a missile-launchingapparatus, comprising a frame comprising a handle and an arm rest, atleast one crossarm connected to the frame at least one elastic member,wherein the at least one elastic member is connected to the at least onecrossarm, and a missile locking assembly connected to the frame.

In still another aspect, the invention is directed to a missile weapon,comprising a frame assembly comprising a missile locking assembly, aresilient member connected to the frame assembly, a resilient membersupport extending rearwardly from the frame assembly, and a missilecomprising a shaft and a notch, wherein the missile is fitted to theresilient member at the notch and fitted to the missile locking assemblyat the shaft.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for amissile-launching device that is capable of being locked in aready-to-fire position.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for amissile-launching device that may be carried in a ready-to-fire positionwhile the operator engages in strenuous or quick movements.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide for amissile-launching device that is relatively compact and unencumbering.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide for amissile-launching device that may be fired and reloaded quickly.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide for amissile-launching device that is relatively accurate and capable ofstriking a target at a significant range.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appendedclaims in conjunction with the drawings as described following:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A is a partial cut-away perspective view of the portion of apreferred embodiment of the present invention adapted to hold the shaftportion of an arrow when the device is in the “closed” position.

FIG. 2B is a partial cut-away perspective view of the portion of apreferred embodiment of the present invention adapted to hold the shaftportion of an arrow when the device is in the “open” position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention similar to FIG. 1, but with an arrow in a ready-to-fireposition.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, similar to FIG. 3 but shown as the arrow is being fired.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

With reference to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention may be described. Frame plate 10 provides a mounting point forcrossarms 12. There are six crossarms 12 in the preferred embodiment,but the invention is not so limited and any number of crossarms may beemployed as appropriate to the materials utilized in the construction ofthe device. Brace bars 14 extend rearwardly from the left side of frameplate 10, and are used to support brace 15 that fits against the leftarm of the user when the device is fired. It may be noted that theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 1 is appropriate to a right-handedshooter, although the device could be constructed in a mirror-image formfor a left-handed shooter within the scope of the invention.

Also extending from the left side of frame plate 10 is handle 16, whichis preferably formed into a shape that is easily gripped by the lefthand of the shooter. Strap support 18 extends rearwardly from the centerback of frame plate 10, and features a tail portion with a right-anglebend. Various other constructions of strap support 18 are possiblewithin the scope of the invention, provided that they are operable toengage strap 26 when the device is in the ready-to-fire position. Frameplate 10, crossarms 12, brace bars 14, and strap support 18 arepreferably formed of steel, aluminum, or any other sufficiently strongmaterial. Handle 16 may be preferably formed of a steel bar core with aplastic or rubber outercovering for both strength and comfort duringuse.

Attached at the outward ends of each of crossarms 12 is an elastic tube20. Preferably, strong rubber tubing such as used in medicine andlaboratories may be employed for elastic tube 20. Alternatively, anyother resilient and sufficiently strong material could be used, such aselastic bands. In the preferred embodiment, crossarms 12 are notattached directly to each tube 20, but instead an attachment cord 22 isemployed for that purpose. The reason for this construction is to reducewear on the ends of elastic tube 20 if, for example, the forward end ofeach tube 20 were simply stretched over the extending end of thecorresponding crossarm 12. In the preferred embodiment, attachment cords22 are knotted inside each end of each tube 20, and a hose claim 24 asknown in the art is placed in front of the knot to prevent tube 20 fromdisengaging with its attachment cords 22 during use. Each of the twosets of tubes 20 are attached at one end of strap 26. In alternativeembodiments, one set of tubes 20 could be used, with each end attachedto an opposing crossarm 12. Strap 26 could then be omitted inalternative embodiments. In the preferred embodiment, strap 26 is formedof leather, or any other sufficiently strong and pliable material. Pullring 28 is fitted over strap 26. It may be seen that by applyingrearward pressure to pull ring 28, the user will pull strap 26rearwardly, thereby stretching elastic bands 20 as the distance betweenstrap 26 and crossbars 12 increases. Notch string 30, which may beformed of cord or a similar material, extends between the two interiorsides of strap 26 in the preferred embodiment. Any other means ofengaging the rear of an arrow or other shafted missile may be used inalternative embodiments.

Arrow rest assembly 32 is preferably attached at the upper end of frameplate 10 on its rearward side. Two arrow rest blocks 34 are mounted atframe plate 10, and arrow rest shaft 36 passes through them in adirection orthogonal to the direction of travel of an arrow launchedfrom the device. Rest 38, which includes two prongs as shown in FIG. 1,is mounted to arrow rest shaft 36 such that it may pivot forwardly andrearwardly. Preferably, rest 38 is biased rearwardly by a spring orother resilient means (not shown), such that rest 38 extends in agenerally vertical direction when an arrow is not present. In thismanner, a “floating” rest assembly 32 is preferably provided for theshaft of an arrow to be fired using the device. The floatingconstruction provides stability to the arrow as it is fired. Thestructure and function of arrow holder arms 40 and trigger 44, which islinked to arrow holder arms 40, will be described more fully below.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is optional reel 42, which is mounted at theforward side of frame plate 10. Reel 42 may be of any conventional typethat is employed in fishing or like pursuits. By attaching amonofilament or other line extending from reel 42 to an arrow fired fromthe device, a targeted fish or other game animal may be reeled back tothe user just as if a traditional fishing rod and reel were employed. Inembodiments of the invention in which fishing is not an intendedapplication, reel 42 may be omitted, or may be removed when not neededand reattached for fishing applications. Reel 42 may be employed forapplications other than fishing, such as retrieving practice arrows.

Turning now to FIGS. 2A and 2B; the operation of the arrow holdermechanism of the preferred embodiment of the present invention may bedescribed. It may be seen that arrow holder arms 40 are mounted at thefront side of frame plate 10 in a pivoting manner, preferably by ascrew, bolt, or the like at the lower end of each of arrow holder arms40. FIG. 2A shows the device when it is in the “closed” position, suchas when no arrow is present or when an arrow is locked in theready-to-fire position. Arrow holder arms 40 comprise facing concaveportions that form a circular arrow holder opening 52 that is sized toreceive the shaft of the arrow to be launched by the device. The forwardend of an arrow may thus be locked into place with the device in aready-to-fire position without concern about the forward end of thearrow slipping from arrow rest assembly 32 due to the user's movements.

In order to fire an arrow, or to load an arrow into the device, trigger44 is depressed in the direction shown by the adjacent arrow in FIG. 2B.Depression of trigger 44 on trigger mount 46 causes a rotation of cam 48from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation, which causesarrow holder arms 40 to be pushed laterally and pivoted from theirdownward ends, thus moving apart from each other in the directionindicated by the adjacent arrows of FIG. 2B. After the arrow is fired,or an arrow is loaded depending upon the operation being performed,trigger 44 may be released. Spring 50 then draws arrow holder arms 40back together, pivoting cam 48 back to a vertical orientation. It may benoted that while spring 50 is employed in the preferred embodiment, anyother resilient member or other return means may be employed inalternative embodiments of the invention to return arrow holder arms 40to the “closed” position.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the operation of a preferred embodiment ofthe invention may be described in greater detail. FIG. 3 illustrates thepreferred embodiment of the invention in a ready-to-fire configuration,with an arrow 54 loaded. To load the device, the user first grips pullring 28 and positions strap 26 such that it is pulled rearward fartherthan and just above the rearward end of strap support 18. Strap 26 isthen lowered until it rests on the upturned end of strap support 18. Itmay be seen that the preferred embodiment may be held in this positionindefinitely, without any strain upon the user. While gripping thepreferred embodiment at handle 16, the user then depresses trigger 44,which causes arrow holder arms 40 to open outward. An arrow is thenplaced such that arrow rest 38 supports its forward end, and the notchat the rear of the arrow is fitted onto notch string 30. Once positionedin this manner, the user may release trigger 44, which due to the forceof spring 50 (shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B) causes arrow holder arms 40 toreturn to the “closed” position, trapping the shaft of arrow 54 inholder opening 52. It may be seen that in this configuration, the usermay move about, even run at speed, without disturbing the position ofarrow 54 with respect to rest 38 and notch string 30, and thus thepreferred embodiment will be maintained in the ready-to-fire positioneven during strenuous physical movement such as may be performed whilehunting.

FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention justas an arrow 54 is being fired. Trigger 44 is depressed in order torelease the forward end of arrow 54 by the opening of arrow holder arms40. The user then pulls back on pull ring 28 until elastic tubes 20 areat the desired tension for the release of arrow 54. It will be seen thatthe shaft of arrow 54 slides across arrow rest 38 during this process.Arrow 54 is aimed at the target, and then pull ring 28 is released. Thetension in elastic tubes 20 causes the arrow to slide forward rapidlyacross arrow rest 38. As arrow 54 leaves the device, the notch portionon the rearward end of arrow 54 disengages from notch string 30. Thearrow then proceeds to its target in an otherwise conventional manner.

The present invention has been described with reference to certainpreferred and alternative embodiments that are intended to be exemplaryonly and not limiting to the full scope of the present invention as setforth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for launching missiles, comprising:a. a frame; b. at least one pair of elastic members connected to saidframe and engageable with a rearward end of a missile; c. a supportextending rearwardly from said frame and engageable with said at leastone pair of elastic members when said at least one pair of elasticmembers is at least partially extended rearwardly from said frame; andd. a missile holder selectively engageable with a forward portion of amissile wherein the missile is locked into position with respect to theapparatus when said missile holder is engaged.
 2. The apparatus of claim1, wherein said frame comprises at least one pair of crossarms, and eachof said at least one pair of elastic members is connected to one of saidat least one pair of crossarms.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, furthercomprising a strap connecting each pair of said at least one pair ofelastic members.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said strapcomprises a notching member adapted to receive a notch at the rearwardend of the missile.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said missileholder comprises a pair of missile holder arms.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein each of said missile holder arms comprise a concavesegment adapted to fit a shaft of a missile when said pair of missileholder arms are closed together.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, furthercomprising a trigger in communication with said pair of missile holderarms wherein activation of said trigger causes said pair of missileholder arms to open.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising aresilient member in communication with said pair of missile holder armswherein said resilient member biases said pair of missile holder arms toclose together.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising amissile rest connected to said frame.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein said missile rest comprises a resilient member and wherein saidresilient member is operable to bias said missile rest rearwardly.
 11. Amissile-launching apparatus, comprising: a. a frame comprising a handleand an arm rest; b. at least one crossarm connected to said frame; c. atleast one elastic member, wherein said at least one elastic member isconnected to said at least one crossarm; and d. a missile lockingassembly connected to said frame.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinsaid missile locking assembly comprises a pair of locking arms adaptedto receive a shaft of a missile therebetween.
 13. The apparatus of claim12, wherein said missile locking assembly further comprises: a. atrigger; b. a trigger arm connected to said trigger; and c. a cam linkedto said trigger arm, wherein said cam is positioned between said pair oflocking arms.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising aresilient member comprising two ends, and wherein each of said resilientmember ends are connected to one of said pair of locking arms.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein each of said locking arms comprises anindentation adapted to receive a shaft of a missile.
 16. The apparatusof claim 11, further comprising a support extending rearwardly from saidframe and engageable with said at least one elastic member.
 17. Amissile weapon, comprising: a. a frame assembly comprising a missilelocking assembly; b. a resilient member connected to said frameassembly; c. a resilient member support extending rearwardly from saidframe assembly; and d. a missile comprising a shaft and a notch, whereinsaid missile is fitted to said resilient member at said notch and fittedto said missile locking assembly at said shaft.
 18. The missile weaponof claim 17, wherein said resilient member support comprises a resilientmember rest adaptable to receive said resilient member when saidresilient member is at least partially stretched rearwardly from saidframe assembly.
 19. The missile weapon of claim 17, wherein said missilelocking assembly comprises a pair of locking arms and a triggermechanism.
 20. The missile weapon of claim 19, wherein said triggermechanism comprises a trigger and a cam in communication with saidtrigger, wherein said cam is positioned between said pair of lockingarms.